ALPHARETTA, GA. — Neal Freeman will begin construction in May on Fairway Social, a golf and entertainment concept in Alpharetta. The 11,000-square-foot entertainment destination, Fairway Social, will be located in The Maxwell, a joint development between Mayfair Street Partners, LLC and The Providence Group of Georgia LLC. The Maxwell will include 44,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space, as well as 138 residential units. Seven sports simulators will offer virtual golfing on more than 80 notable courses, as well as provide simulated games for baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, cricket and zombie dodgeball. The venue will also feature a section called Back Nine, which will have nine customizable holes on synthetic turf with synthetic sand traps, bridges and putting challenges. The indoor and outdoor bar area, named Par Bar, will be adjacent to seating for more than 80 diners in an area to be known as The Tee Room. There will also be an indoor-outdoor patio bar on the rooftop called Eagles Nest. The Maxwell is situated 25 miles north of downtown Atlanta.
ATLANTA — Harold Schumacher, founder of The Schumacher Group in Atlanta, died Saturday at the age of 72. Schumacher attended Michigan State University and moved to Atlanta as a public school teacher in the 1970s. He worked part-time as a restaurant critic for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Schumacher worked at The Shopping Center Group, now known as TSCG, as a broker for four years before founding The Schumacher Group in 1991. Some of Schumacher’s major clients include Verizon Wireless, Bruster’s, Metrotainment Cafes (Hudson Grill and Garrison’s), Varasano’s Pizza and Golden Corral. The firm also is part of the Retail Brokers Network, a national consortium of independent retail and restaurant pros.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. — Charles Wayne Properties Inc. will donate vacant space at its properties to individuals, businesses and organizations that need the space to help combat the COVID-19 outbreak. The Daytona Beach-based company plans to offer this program at its office, retail, flex industrial and warehouse properties in Altamonte Springs, Daytona Beach, Lake Mary, Orlando, Ormond Beach, Port Orange and Sanford, Fla. Charles Wayne Properties can accommodate manufacturers (including people making masks), testing sites and labs, storage and distribution of medicine and supplies, according to Ted Lightman, principal at Charles Wayne Properties. Lightman added the initiative is new and the company is “still learning about who is out there helping and what they might need.” Groups qualifying for space under this program will be provided short-term leases during which they only pay their share of utilities, insurance, taxes and costs of maintaining the space.
MCLEAN, VA. — As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the United States, Hilton Hotels has teamed up with Lysol and Mayo Clinic to implement its new Hilton CleanStay with Lysol Protection program this summer. The new initiative aims to “provide guests with assurance and peace of mind” when they visit a Hilton property. RB, Lysol’s parent company, will work with the McLean-based hotel chain to launch a cleaning system in an effort to keep guests safe and healthy. Experts from Mayo Clinic’s Infection Prevention and Control team will advise and assist in enhancing Hilton’s cleaning and disinfection protocols. Some features of the program include a Hilton CleanStay Room Seal, a seal on doors notifying guests the room has not been entered since it was thoroughly cleaned; extra disinfectant on what Hilton deems high-touch areas, including light switches, doors handles, TV remotes and thermostats; removing items such as pens, paper and guest directories, which will be available digitally or upon request; and the Clean and Clean Again program, which increases the frequency of cleaning in public areas. Hilton’s portfolio includes 18 brands and 6,100 properties worldwide. Others in the hospitality sector taking extra measures include Marriott International and Airbnb. Marriott created …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, North America’s Building Trade Union (NABTU) and the Center for Construction Research and Training have released a new standard for infectious disease exposure control practices for U.S. construction sites. “The new national framework outlines planning and implementation elements with strong minimum standards, screening policies and the requirement of a comprehensive employer exposure control plan. [The employer plan comprises] control measures, symptom checking, social distancing, training, hygiene and decontamination procedures,” according to a press release from the partnership. Some guidelines that the partnership suggests employers implement include: Designating a site-specific COVID-19 officer at every job site; Planning for office staff to have the ability to work from home; Training workers with the most recent information on the hazard and control measures, including social distancing, handwashing facilities on site and how high-touch surfaces are disinfected; Screening, such as asking workers to self-identify symptoms of fever, coughing, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell each day, before the shift, mid-shift and at home. “The COVID-19 pandemic clearly underscores the need for and value of a strong, adaptable and multi-purpose exposure control standard to prevent …
PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. — NorthMarq has arranged a $14 million refinancing for Village Square Shopping Center, an 88,529-square-foot property in Pembroke Pines. The property features a Publix and two outparcels leased to Bank of America and McDonald’s. Village Square is situated at 1601-1697 N. Hiatus Road, 25 miles north of downtown Miami. An undisclosed life insurance company provided the loan, which features one year of interest-only payments followed by a 20-year amortization schedule. Michael Balan of NorthMarq represented the undisclosed borrower in the transaction.
After a Record 2019, Mortgage Bankers Face Slowing Borrower Demand for Commercial, Multifamily Loans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial and multifamily lenders originated $600.6 billion in loans in 2019, marking the third straight record-setting year, according to Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) 2019 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Annual Origination Volume Summation. The Washington, D.C.-based organization warns, however, that 2020 will likely not continue the record-setting year trends, as COVID-19 impacts the United States economy. The pandemic “has slowed borrower demand and challenged lenders’ ability to underwrite and fund many property loans,” according to a press release from the MBA. With the markets adjusting day-to-day and hour-to-hour, how this year’s borrowing and lending compares to 2019 will depend on the duration of the pandemic and how quickly the economy bounces back, the organization says. According to the MBA, commercial bank portfolios were the leading capital source for originated loans in 2019, responsible for $179.8 billion of the total. The government-sponsored enterprises, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had the second highest volume at $139.1 billion, followed by commercial mortgage-backed securities issuers, life insurance companies and pension funds. Multifamily properties received the highest origination volume at $287.2 billion, followed by office buildings, industrial properties, retail, hotels/motels and healthcare.
MIAMI — Cinemex Holdings USA Inc., parent company of CMX Cinemas, CineBistro and Cobb Theatres, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Miami-based company operates 41 movie theaters that have been temporarily closed since mid-March amid the outbreak of COVID-19. In a written statement, an undisclosed Cinemex Holdings USA spokesman said the Chapter 11 filing will help protect the company’s business viability and employees if and when the company’s movie theaters reopen. The spokesperson said that it’s impossible to forecast if and when ticket sales would ever reach pre-crisis levels. In the state of Georgia, movie theaters were allowed to reopen on Monday, April 27, and movie theaters in Texas can open at limited capacity on Friday, May 1. The spokesperson said that during its “total suspension of business” that landlords and creditors have proven unwilling to work out temporary solutions in terms of rent relief or repayment of debt obligations. The company spokesperson also said that the bankruptcy is a result of an uneven playing field as movie studios typically collect 60 percent of every ticket sold. The person said an equitable long-term “rebalancing” for movie theater operators would be for movie studios to cut their maximum revenue …
NAPLES, FLA. — Moorings Park Institute Inc. and London Bay Development Group have opened the first phase of Moorings Park Grande Lake, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Naples. Located on 55 acres along the Naples Grande Golf Course, the first phase of development included three buildings totaling 47 units, all but three of which were pre-reserved. Entrance fees start at $1.5 million and are 70 percent refundable, and golf club membership is included. Phase II of the project has just opened for preleasing, and includes a clubhouse scheduled to open in late 2021.
KENNESAW, GA. — Madison Capital Group will develop a 714-unit Go Store It self-storage facility in Kennesaw. The property will stand five stories and will offer climate-controlled units and 69,550 square feet of net rentable space. A timeline for construction was not disclosed. Kim Bishop, Jim Davies, Eric Snyder and Lauren Maehler of Talonvest Capital Inc. originated a $6.2 million construction loan on behalf of the developer. An undisclosed regional lender provided the partial-recourse, four-year loan, which features interest-only payments at LIBOR plus 3 percent.